If someone asked Karasu about love, he'd say he's too rational for that. Sure, he was a gentleman, he was popular with girls, and he talked real dirty sometimes, but he never showed any interest in the aspect of romance. In most people's eyes, Karasu was basically too cool for that.

However, truth be told, like a lot of other things he said to hide his true self from people, that was a big fat lie.

The blue-eyed male, in reality, probably had the biggest crush ever on his childhood friend—you.

You met Karasu when you two were six, first grade, to be exact, when you stopped some pricks from picking on him after school. You'd witnessed him going from a boy who was moved by ordinary things to a famous athlete with a sharp mind and a sharper tongue. You'd watched him building up his armor as the years went by, honing his skill to observe and analyze people, using their weaknesses against them both on and off the field. You knew better than anyone his fear and insecurities of being mediocre, even when he never outright said it. You just understood his behaviors, even when he was rude and mean to you sometimes.

In short, you were his special person, and Karasu was damn sure that he could never find anyone else like you.

That being said, would he act on his feelings? Well...not really.

There were tons of reasons he could think of, like if it'd be worth risking your friendship, if someone as mediocre as him really deserved you, and most of all, if you'd reciprocate.

Yes, his specialty was assessing people, and he knew you like the back of his hand, but whenever it came to your true feelings towards him, apparently, his supposedly really intelligent brain just malfunctioned.

Still, that didn't stop him from yearning. The boy acted like he was beyond something that mediocre, but God knew how much he missed you during his time in Blue Lock, God knew how he'd look for you first in every crowd in every game he played, even if he was surrounded by others, God knew how he'd listen to a voicemail from you over and over again just because he loved your voice, and God knew how much he wanted to be close to you all the time, how he'd die to touch you but always held back in order to keep his composure and feelings in check.

Right now, you just fell asleep on his shoulder one the train as you two headed back to Osaka, and he was as tensed as a bowstring, didn't even dare to take a breath, afraid that you'd move your head, afraid that his vulnerability'd bleed through his carefully crafted bravado.